With only about one-sixth of the original coral cover left, most Caribbean coral reefs may disappear in the next 20 years, primarily due to the loss of grazers in the region, according to the latest report by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
The report, Status and Trends of Caribbean Coral Reefs: 1970-2012, is the most detailed and comprehensive study of its kind published to date – the result of the work of 90 experts over the course of three years. It contains the analysis of more than 35,000 surveys conducted at 90 Caribbean locations since 1970, including studies of corals, seaweeds, grazing sea urchins and fish.
The results show that the Caribbean corals have declined by more than 50% since the 1970s. But according to the authors, restoring parrotfish populations and improving other management strategies, such as protection from overfishing and excessive coastal pollution, could help the reefs recover and make them more resilient to future climate change impacts.
“The rate at which the Caribbean corals have been declining is truly alarming,” says Carl Gustaf Lundin, Director of IUCN’s Global Marine and Polar Programme. “But this study brings some very encouraging news: the fate of Caribbean corals is not beyond our control and there are some very concrete steps that we can take to help them recover.”
Take me to the complete story . . .
The Latest on: Caribbean corals
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Caribbean corals” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Caribbean corals
- The World Is Experiencing Its Fourth Global Coral Bleaching Event In History, With Ocean Temperatures Reaching Record-Breaking Highs And Causing Reefs To Lose Their Coloron May 3, 2024 at 8:00 am
Coral Reef Watch has announced that the world is currently experiencing its fourth global coral bleaching event in history. The event is the second one to occur in the last 10 years and puts coral ...
- 17 Caribbean Islands You Need to Visit, Rankedon May 3, 2024 at 12:00 am
The Caribbean is a special place. With warm turquoise waters, delicious food and some of the largest coral reefs in the world, what's not to love? First dominated by Taino natives, the region is now a ...
- Global coral bleaching event declaredon May 2, 2024 at 10:00 pm
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has declared that the planet is currently experiencing a global coral bleaching event.
- 'Noah's Ark' aims at keeping Florida's coral reef aliveon May 1, 2024 at 11:23 am
With rising water temperatures threatening Florida’s coral reefs, scientists have worked to relocate the animals in order to save them. But one rescue operation run in part by Disney and Sea World in ...
- USF incubator acceptance helps company's mission to protect coral from deadly diseaseon April 30, 2024 at 4:35 am
Ocean Alchemists started saving coral from a dangerous disease in 2019. The company wants to reach the next growth stage with the USF incubator program.
- A Coral-Bleaching Event is Devastating Reefs Globally: the Spiritual, Pyschological and Cultural Tollon April 29, 2024 at 10:31 pm
The world’s corals have reached a grim milestone, with scientists across the world confirming the fourth global bleaching event on record. In April 2024, ...
- Curaçao Hunts For Sustainability In The Caribbean—And A Lionfish Or Twoon April 28, 2024 at 8:34 pm
Hotels on Curaçao are doing everything from reef cleanup to next-level conservation initiatives to preserve the fragile Caribbean ecosystem.
- Coral Reefs Newson April 27, 2024 at 5:00 pm
New Scientific Study Reveals the Crucial Role of Herbivorous Fishes and Sea Urchins in Restoring Caribbean Coral Reefs Nov. 15, 2023 — A new study presents crucial findings on the feeding ...
- Earth’s Coral Reefs Face a New, Deadly Mass Bleaching. They Can Still Be Savedon April 16, 2024 at 5:01 pm
For corals, it’s been a disaster. During the Northern Hemisphere’s summer in 2023, widespread bleaching occurred in the Florida Keys, the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific. The Southern ...
- Coral reefs suffer fourth global bleaching event, NOAA sayson April 16, 2024 at 10:24 am
"I have never witnessed this level of bleaching." Bleached corals can recover if waters cool, but some Caribbean corals were so stressed that they continued to die even as temperatures dropped ...
via Bing News
